Redeeming last year’s setback, the Business and Management (B&M) Vipers coiled the Accountancy Griffins into submission, winning the championship title in the Palarong Atenista 2025: Women’s Scrabble tournament.

After placing as the first runner-up in last year’s cup, B&M Vipers’ Chrystanni Gregore revealed that she devoted time to consistent practice matches and word-building exercises alongside her teammate, B&M’s men’s scrabble representative, in preparation for the tournament.

“For our preparations, me and JK have at least 3 matches every time we meet. We also had weekly assignments. For my strategies, I actually don’t have any, I just adapt. Like that one quote ‘The enemy can’t know what you’re doing if you don’t even know what you’re doing,’” she said.

Amid her rigorous training, she admitted that dealing with mental fatigue was her toughest opponent off the board.

“The most challenging aspect is the burnout. It gets tiring after a while. To overcome, I summon my competitive spirit to keep on moving forward. Although most of the time, I find ways to motivate myself to win, just like what I did before the championship game.”

Despite the pressure, she found that focusing on expectations rather than outcomes helped her maintain composure during intense moments.

“I maintain focus by locking in. I may look serious when playing, but I actually don’t take things seriously until late game. Sometimes, the pressure of letting people down weighs more than the pressure from the game, and that helps me push my limits,” she explained.

Looking back at her growth as a player, Gregore noted that last year’s tournament, where she fell short of the title, was the most defining challenge of her Scrabble journey.

“I recall the last year’s tournament where I just landed second place. It’s been a while since I had a formidable opponent. It was the only game that really put up a fight in my entire journey,” she recalled.

The Accountancy (ACC) Griffins secured the first runner-up spot, while the School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA) Tigers finished as second runner-up. 

This year’s women’s Scrabble tournament was held at F213 Multipurpose Room, Finster Building, on September 18.